Lausanne, capitale olympique

And from the sporting competition that involved athletes and teams from every nation, an intellectual movement was born, “Olympism,” with the idea that the intense cultural and artistic exchange inherent in sporting events could lead to understanding and fairness among States.
The ancient “Olympism” was revived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1892, who decided to bring back the Olympic Games. On June 22, 1894, at the Sorbonne in Paris, the International Olympic Committee was established, and in 1896 the first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in Athens, from April 6 to 15. The purposes of the Olympic Committee were both organizational and educational. Through the Committee, cultural programs related to the various editions of the games were promoted.
A few years later, the IOC headquarters was moved from Paris to Lausanne, and since 1915 all material concerning the games has been collected and archived. In 1982, a temporary museum with an attached study center was inaugurated, and on June 23, 1993, on the occasion of the International Olympic Day, the “Olympic Museum” was opened, a unique structure in the world of its kind. The Museum (the total surface area of the building is 11,000 sqm) is the work of architects Pedro Ramirez Vazquez (Mexico) and Jean-Pierre Cahen (Switzerland), who adopted a “classic-modern” style with deliberate references to ancient Greece. The museum structure is built on a slope and develops over five levels. Two floors are below ground level, and the other three follow the terrain’s layout via terraces. The park (public) in which the museum was built covers 23,220 sqm and overlooks Lake Geneva and the Alps of Savoy. Eight columns of pure white marble from the island of Thasos, a gift from the Greek government, symbolize the temple of Zeus and mark the entrance to the structure. Inside the museum, 3,400 sqm (over two levels) are reserved for the permanent exhibition of the collection (gymnastic equipment, Olympic medals, Olympic torches from all modern games, art and archaeology objects, a philatelic collection, and a numismatic collection) while the remaining space houses a specialized library (15,000 volumes), an auditorium for 180 people, a photo library (200,000 photos), a film archive for 7,000 hours of screening, a paper documents archive, a boutique, and a cafeteria. There is also the most complete collection of stamps and coins minted on the occasion of the games.
The displays are by museologists Iker Larrauri and Jorge Agostoni and the responsible director Luis Monreal. Technology is also a protagonist in the structure. Wide use is made of high-definition televisions, laser discs, and fiber optics, and thanks to the use of computers and robots it is possible to simultaneously manage the huge amounts of both graphic and filmed information requested by visitors. The sophisticated telematic and multimedia systems are also used to acquire information concerning both the Olympic Games and related topics.
Works by Botero, Rodin, Tapies, Berrocal, Chillida are spread throughout, and at the entrance, the Olympic flame, permanently lit, shines in a granite basin designed by André Ricard.